Abdominal belt



July 17, 1934. D. BECKER 1,967,003

ABDOMINAL BELT Filed March 10, 1932 fin 617(0)"; ,,D.,BecKev a, WM 54%.

' this point of View is left out ficial substitute for the Patented July 17, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application March 10,

In Germany March 18,

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an abdominal belt or body support, of which the back and front portions are pivotally connected with one another.

The numerous known abdominal belts, supports, bands or bandages, mainly consisting of movable and elastic material, only fulfil their purpose incompletely, and are under some circumstances not merely inconvenient but positively painful to the wearer.

The defects from the point of view of incon venience consist in neglecting the attempt to provide an artificial substitute in cases of relaxation of the abdominal walls. Known belts in which of account exert a an upward pull or a downpain of the concentric pressure, ward pull, and cannot alleviate the relaxation of the abdominal walls.

As regards the harmfulness of known abdominal bandages and belts reference need only be made to the concentric pressure exerted upon the abdominal organs.

These defects are avoided by this invention, originating from the attempt to provide an artirelaxed abdominal muscles.

The essence of the invention resides in the fact that the back portion consists of a rigid curved member shaped to fit the form of the human back, the free ends of this curved member being connected with one another by a tensioning sail or web of inextensible and inelastic material serving as the abdominal portion. The required degree of tension of the web is obtained by means of adjustable straps or girdles, which connect the web with the curved member.

Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawing are perspective views of two forms of construction of an abdominal belt according to the invention.

The abdominal belt consists of a rigid curved member a, of aluminium for example, adapted to the form of the human back at about the height of the fourth lumbar vertebra, the free ends 1 of this curved member reaching to the lateral wall of the abdomen and being at a fixed diametral distance from one another.

These free ends 1 are brought into connection by eyes or swivel hooks c or by hinges d with a rhomboidal or lozenge-shaped tensioning web b supported crescentwise in an upward direction, and the web I) absolutely must consist of inextensible, inelastic material. The tensioning web I) is connected by straps or girdles g with the eyes or safety hooks c or with the hinges d in such a way that any desired degree of tension of the web can be obtained. The free ends of the straps g, which are shown broken 01f in the drawing, and also deflected upwards in Fig. 1, are either connected with one another or attached to the web I). In the points of fixation obtained 1932, Serial No. 598,024

by rigidity of the curved back a, in the free ends thereof, the site of insertion of the most important abdominal muscles may be regarded as being united, as corresponds in a mechanically practical manner to natural conditions. By tightening the tensioning web b connected with these free ends 1 any desired degree of tension can be obtained, in consequence of the rigidity of this web, by a pull exerted in the eyes 0, in imitation of the tcnicity of the abdominal muscles, according to the degree of fiaccidity of the muscular apparatus. The production of normal physiological conditions thereby obtained to a high degree not only sets a limit to the primary disease but also eliminates the frequently serious subsequent or subsidiary phenomena that are produced in the human organism by the relaxation of the abdominal walls.

The avoidance of the gravely injurious concentric pressure, the rejection of the thigh tension straps and shoulder straps adopted in many other systems, the restriction of the material employed to a minimum, the freedom of the region of the flanks or loins and of the region of the stomach, obviate the disturbing feeling of pressure experienced when wearing numerous existing bands. By opposing the abdominal organs, now raised again, to the diaphragm, the breathing, previously made more difficult by descent of the diaphragm, is restored to normal, a result which cannot be attained by means of a generally compressive abdominal bandage. The lumbago, and lordotic curvature of the lumbar vertebral column that frequently occur, owing to the pull of the lowered abdominal and pelvic organs, cease as a result of the replacement obtained. In concluding, reference may be made to the attainment of atrophy of fat in the abdominal region by pressure and the atrophy or destruction thereby produced of superfluous capillaries, with simultaneous liberation of the arteries that feed the muscles.

What I claim is:

An abdominal belt, comprising in combination a rigid back portion curved to fit the shape of the human back and extending round the back so that its ends reach the lateral walls of the abdomen and are located at a fixed distance apart from one another and a tensioning web of substantially inextensible and inelastic material pivotally connected to the ends of the rigid back portion for raising the abdominal organs.

DIEDRICH BECKER. 

